Argus drone with 1.8-gigapixel camera

Drones are useful – they not only get behind enemy lines to make sure the job is done, it also more or less eliminates the risk of losing someone’s life in the process. Most drones used by the army comes in the form of an airplane, but the Argus-IS is different, considering how it is inspired by the helicopter, allowing it to hover around. This translates to the ability to take off without having to go through the process of taking off from a runway, where it will also be accompanied by an 1.8-gigapixel color camera.

Also known as the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System in the long form, the Argus-IS is called so after Argus Panoptes, the giant with a hundred eyes in Greek mythology. This 1.8-gigapixel camera is the largest video sensor to date, where it delivers 900 times the resolution of a standard 2-megapixel camera, and is also full well capable of delivering real-time video streams at 10 frames a second. This enables the Argus-IS to track people and vehicles from altitudes as high as above 20,000 feet, stretching across nearly 65 square miles. It will take a year or so of testing before being deployed in Afghanistan.